Capt. Robert Semrau Disgraced by Military

Back in 2008 Capt

Back in 2008 Capt. Semrau shot and killed an unarmed, dying Taliban fighter. He was then charged with murder for his mercy killing of the Taliban man. Mercy being the operative word here. On July 19,

Capt. Semrau was acquitted of the murder charges, and now a sentence has been handed down for disgraceful conduct.

Disgraceful conduct. The only disgrace here is what was done by the military. I'm not so sure what is so disgraceful about ending the suffering of another human being. The man was dying. And even if there was a medic in the team, there is only so much a medic can do. A medic does not have the means to pack someone's guts back into their body, or reattach a person's limb. And a medical evacuation was not possible for this individual. This man was, according to reports, strafed out of his roost by a U.S. military helicopter. One leg was severed while the other grievously damaged, and his guts were pooling onto the ground beneath him. Now, put yourself into this man's position. Your body has been torn to pieces, your guts are pooled in front of you, there is no medical evacuation for you. And even if there was, the likelihood of your surviving to see that evacuation is slim to none. Your only option is agony. Would you prefer dying slowly, or going quickly? If I was going to die one way or another, I would want to do it quickly. Not screaming like an animal, while others kicked me and spat upon me. As the surrounding Afghan soldiers were allegedly doing.

What Capt. Semrau did may not have been legally correct, but it was the right thing to do morally. He ended the suffering of a dying man. He could have watched a man die in agony, instead he chose to let the man die swiftly and with some dignity. I am certain Capt. Semrau would have wished the same thing. Actually, I am quite certain anyone would wish for a swift death, rather than dying in agony while someone kicks you and spits upon you. Doing nothing to alleviate the suffering of another soul is inhumane and godless. Allowing brutality against a dying and suffering man is beyond godless. And while we can all sit back and say that Capt. Semrau could have simply prevented the Afghan soldiers from committing these acts of brutality, and sit silently watching the man die, we are not in Afghanistan. We do not have to fight side by side with Afghans that we need to be able to trust, and whom need to trust us. We do not live in the politics that have infested the battlefields of Afghanistan. And most importantly, we were not there.

And while morals have no place in the law, neither do administrators and bureaucrats have any place on the battlefield. As is the case with military court systems. Court martial panels are made up of officers who have never seen the battlefield, never been to war. They have about as much a clue as you and I about what soldiers face. This does not create an impartiality. This creates a bias. This creates a bias against any soldier who must make the most horrid of decisions in the heat of battle. As these officers can never understand what it means to have to make such a heavy decision, a decision that will, without a doubt, live with Capt. Semrau for the rest of his life.

And although morals have no place in the law, law should be steeped heavily in compassion, or else we are all lost.

Capt. Robert Semrau Disgraced by Military

By: Sheree Monkman

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